The Scrawny Style Icon with Huge Feet

Funny to think that at the start of her career she was described as scrawny, flat chested, ill-proportioned with huge feet! She was very different to the prevailing look of the day, which was championed by, the more obvious ‘cookie cutter’ blonde.

Her figure was actually a little boyish, but add to that her extreme femininity and, in my view, Audrey Hepburn was the perfect package of imperfections.

This style icon always took an active role in her movie wardrobe. In “Roman Holiday“, her first role, she added the scarf and belt to this skirt and blouse ensemble to differentiate what was a very common look, and make it more her own.

She discovered the then almost unknown designer Givenchy and went to see him to look for outfits for Sabrina.

He was expecting Catherine Hepburn and almost turned her away!

Givenchy’s clothes suited Audrey’s tall, slender silhouette perfectly and the pieces she chose that day quickly become iconographic. And she very quickly became his muse, and they worked together for the rest of her life.

Much more than being a fashion icon, for me Audrey Hepburn is a true lesson in pure style.

Throughout her life she managed to work a fine line between simple and sophisticated, using clean lines, classic shapes & colours. She knew what worked for her body type and stuck with it.

It’s a lesson I think teenagers today should be taught today!

I mean what great inspiration to maximize what you have and be comfortable and confident in that, rather than wanting what someone else has!

By maximizing her ballerina style and wonderful features, Audrey Hepburn created a stylish trademark look…capri pants, turtlenecks, button down trench coats and of course the perfect handbag. It’s funny to think today how we still refer to something as being very Audrey Hepburn.

Even later on in her life on Unicef missions in her preferred uniform of polo shirts & jeans, she always made simple clothes look luxurious.

Audrey Hepburn was always true to her style by being individual & comfortable with what she wore & how she wore it. But there’s more. Audrey Hepburn conveyed not just an extraordinary external beauty, but she understood and displayed true inner beauty.

This is best conveyed by both her Unicef work and the things she said. I had hoped to pick just one of her quotations, but as this is about the quintessential style icon, I’ve added a few more!

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.”

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

Comments

Thanks for following my blog and sharing the love for “scrawny style icon with huge feet.” Love that title, and looooove the graphic that compares three decades of her same, classic, all-black look. Stunning. :)